Yes, over time hardwood floors get marked by chairs, furniture, shoes and other normal accidents. Depending on the thickness of your solid wood floor, if it is solid hardwood, it can be sanded and refinished to make it look new. In solid hardwood timber, the top hardwood layer is about 5-6mm, which can be sanded 4 or 5 times. By contrast, engineered hardwood timber floors are very common on today’s market. Most of them have only a 2mm or 3.5mm thick hardwood layer on the top and it is not possible to sand them.

Because wood is a natural product, no two boards will be the same. But this is what makes hardwood floors so appealing. The characteristics of each board are determined by the growing environment of the trees the wood comes from.

Place mats at doorways to collect dust and dirt from shoes. Also place mats in arrears of direct sunlight as long periods of direct sun will change the appearance of your floor. Place protective pads under chair legs and furniture and avoid wearing high heel shoes on the floor. To clean, use a vacuum, broom or a damp mop. Do not use wax or abrasive chemicals. Keep pets’ nails trimmed to avoid them scratching the floor.

Yes, most of today’s hardwood timbers are pre-finished, which is different from timber flooring available 10 or 20 years ago. Pre-finished hardwood flooring has been sanded, polished and coated in the factory. However, traditional hardwood floors are raw timber. After we install the timber boards, then the floors need sanding, polishing and coating, which creates a higher labour cost. The factory coating is also much stronger than the alternative. Most manufacturers do 7 to 9 coatings, while Australian tradesmen usually apply only three coats.

Engineered hardwood timber floors are more popular. Hardwood timber comes from trees that take 50 to 100 years to mature. We have to destroy more forests to make hardwood timbers. We love the wood grain appearance, but the base part of solid hardwood can never be used. That is why engineered hardwoods are popular. We can still enjoy the natural appearance of hardwood, but since the hardwood layer is only 2 or 3.5mm thick, we cut fewer trees. The flooring is more environmentally friendly and more affordable.

Hardwood has more colour choice because there are so many different trees to choose, like Spotted Gum, Jarrah, Oak, and others. These trees all have different colours. Bamboo is a single plant variety. That’s why it offers limited colour ranges. However, today manufacturers offer more varieties of stained pre-finished bamboo flooring than ever before.

No, the hardness of timber flooring is not all the same even though they are all called hardwood timber. Because they are sourced from different trees, they all have different hardness. For example, Tasmanian Oak’s Janka hardness is about 5.5, while West Australian Jarrah’s hardness is about 9 to 9.5. They are all as different as nature.

The most common method is the floating installation method. The installer will glue the edge of engineered hardwood floor and the boards are floating installed. However we also can stick the boards directly to the subfloor if the situation requires it.

For solid hardwood timber floors, we direct stick or ‘secret nail’ the boards to the subfloor. If the subfloor is concrete based, the concrete needs to be sealed before gluing. Alternatively, we install 12mm plywood boards before secret nailing. If the subfloor is yellow tongue or chipboard based, secret nailing is the more common method used.

Cost-wise, laminate flooring is the cheapest. Bamboo flooring is a medium cost, and much less than timber flooring. Solid hardwood timber is the most expensive flooring choice. Different hardwoods also have different prices and can be between $65 to $150 per sq metre.

Well, now all your problems can be flushed down the drain because Kingswell Flooring brings you bamboo flooring and timber flooring in Melbourne. With over 10 years of experience, we aim to offer our customers with quality flooring that is stylish and eco-friendly and will uplift your house’s décor.